Filtering by Tag: Steak

Back to reality....we went on a cruise two weeks ago and goodness gracious was it amazing! But, I feel like you need an extra week of vacation to recover from the weeks before and after a vacation! We flew down to Miami and cruised to Nassau, CocoCay, Key West, and then spent a full day in Miami.

Of course while on vacation I sampled a lot of fantastic food and I made a point to try to eat food that was a must try in each location. We had a connection to catch in Chicago so I of course had a Chicago Style dog, sure it was in the airport but it was still quite delicious. Then in Miami I made sure to find cuban place to get a real Cuban sandwich. In Key West I of course had a slice of Key Lime Pie from the famous Key West Key Lime Pie Co. Then of course on the cruise ships we ate like kings/queens dining on Escargot, Prime Rib, Duck, and lots of terrific desserts.

Key Lime Pie in Key West

Cuban Sandwich in Miami

We certainly had an absolutely amazing vacation and I have already begun researching cruises to take next summer because I had such a blast!

The day we left for the cruise we were celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary! I still can't get over that we have been married for a year now. Time just seems to be going by way to quickly, especially this year with all of our changes. The night before we left, we decided that we wanted to have a little celebration where I made this delicious steak dinner, we had frozen wedding cake (which was surprising still quite good), and a couple of glasses of champagne.

Specifically what I will be sharing with you today is the Bordelaise sauce I made for the steak. Bordelaise sauce is a classic French sauce named after the Bordeaux region of France, which is famous for its wine. The sauce is made with dry red wine, bone marrow, butter, shallots and sauce demi-glace. Sauce marchand de vins ("wine-merchant's sauce") is a similar designation. Traditionally, bordelaise sauce is served with grilled beef or steak, though it can also be served with other meats that pair well with red wine demi-glace based sauces. If you are looking for a pretty simple and delicious sauce to make for steak, then you found it. It tasted fantastic drizzled over a perfectly cooked, sous vide, steak.

Bordelaise Sauce

Ingredients

3 TbspShallots, finely diced

1 sprigThyme

1Bay leaf

1/2 tspBlack pepper, ground

1 1/4 cupRed wine

1 3/4 cupBeef stock

To tasteSalt

1 TbspButter

Cooking Directions

Combine the shallots, thyme, bay leaf, black pepper and wine in a saucepan.

Over medium heat, reduce about 90% (until the wine is a syrup) - this will take about 10 minutes. Add stock once red wine is reduced.

Cook the mixture until thick. You will know the sauce is thick enough when it evenly coats the back of your spoon and you can draw a clean line down the middle. Strain and season to taste. Swirl in butter off the heat.

Optional: If it is still a little runny you can add a little corn starch slurry to thicken it up

How did I cook the steak?? First I dried both sides of the steaks, to ensure a good sear. Then I seasoned both sides with salt and pepper. After that I seared the steaks in a hot cast iron pan to get a nice sear on both sides (2-3 min per side). Then I put the steaks in a gallon zip lock bag with some extra virgin olive oil and sprigs of thyme. I then sous vide the steaks in a 129 F water bath for an hour.

WHOOP-DEE-DOO!!!! I'm Done...I'm Done...I'm Doonnneeeee!!! I just finished my last final and I graduate on Saturday! *Huge sigh of relief* I'm so excited cause now I can move on to the next chapter of my life...start my career and hopefully keep growing my little interweb site here. Which means, getting back to my former self and post here on a more regular basis, as well as, network with all you fine people that visit! So what do we have going on this week?

I love compound butters, especially for steak. It is a butter that has been flavored by blending together various ingredients such as fresh herbs, shallots, minced garlic, chili powder, pepper flakes, grated citrus zest, or any array of spices. The butter is typically softened, cut in half lengthwise, each half is then rolled into a mixture of selected flavorings, and each half is then left in a cylinder or log shape. Each log is then chilled or frozen to harden, so it can be sliced easily and served for a spreading or topping on foods. It is commonly used as a condiment, as an addition to sauces, to baste meats and vegetables as they are grilled or broiled, and as a flavored topping for chops, steaks or seafood.

In my case I added roasted garlic, rosemary, some Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard. I love just slicing a round of it and placing it on top of a cooked steak. I usually hit it with a blow torch just to get it to start melting. You can also add it to a pan to baste a piece of meat. Either way you use it, it adds a very unique and flavorful component to any dish. So why not experiment for the holidays and make some sweet compound butters!